Isaac Bruce Looked Up to…Isaac Bruce?

Most of us as kids can remember looking up to superstars – be they athletes, entertainers, authors, what have you – and wanting to emulate them and grow up to be like them.

As far as professional athletes go, it would be difficult to think of a better role model for youngsters than former St. Louis Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce.

Bruce’s philanthropic commitments were once again on display recently when he hosted a free football clinic for kids at a local St. Louis area high school.

There were probably a lot of kids at that clinic that look up to Isaac Bruce and want to emulate him.

But just who did Isaac Bruce look up to as a child? According to the following interview, the answer might not be as simple as you think.

Apparently, Isaac Bruce the child wanted to grow up to be like Isaac Bruce the adult. Which I for one feel is a good thing. It would have been a shame for Isaac Bruce to grow up to be like fellow Rams wide receiver Torry Holt, for example. Not to mention how confusing that would have been for quarterback Kurt Warner, let alone the guy that made the programs.

Also, it seems Isaac Bruce isn’t exactly sure who or what he is. Or maybe he just thinks kids aren’t sure. Is he a cyborg sent from the future to save mankind? An android? A phantom? Geraldo Rivera? A phantom?

Despite our education system’s ever-decreasing test scores, especially in areas like science and math, I’m guessing most kids would be able to correctly identify Isaac Bruce as a human being.

In any event, I think the lesson Isaac Bruce is trying to impart is that kids should pick their role models wisely, not simply emulate someone because they happen to be standing in front of a camera with a microphone in their face. If that were the case, kids might want to grow up to be like someone who’s house was destroyed in a flood, the weatherman, a used car salesman in a cheap suit, or Antoine Dodson.

But it goes beyond that. Youngsters shouldn’t blindly follow any athlete or celebrity.

Just like Isaac Bruce said he did when he was growing up, kids today should “take an opportunity to do some research, dig and do some things and qualities and have them, like Isaac Bruce has.”

And then if you find that they are good people as a whole, like Isaac Bruce, well then you should look up to them. Like Isaac Bruce.

Those are the people Isaac Bruce wanted to be like. And look how he turned out: just like Isaac Bruce.